


Puppy Love

by EternallyBurning



Series: Puppy 'Verse [1]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Animal Transformation, Dog! Kirk, F/M, M/M, Spock/James T. Kirk Pre-slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-09
Updated: 2015-10-28
Packaged: 2018-04-25 13:25:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 14,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4962259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternallyBurning/pseuds/EternallyBurning
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kirk becomes a puppy, and Spock has to look after him. Not Spirk, but prequel to Spirk if you read the sequel 'Puppy Instincts', although this story can be read as a one-off.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally posted on ff.net where you can view this work in its entirety, as well as its sequel.  
> I don't own anything, nor am I making any money so please don't sue.  
> Originally written for a friend but the insanity is mine.

Kirk:

As far as bad days went, this was not the worst. Ok so James T. Kirk wanted nothing better than to throw his insides up right now, Spock and Nyota were practically at war with one another, and Bones was freaking out about the dog statue that had electrocuted him and was currently making him want nothing better than to throw his insides up. Things could be worse. Bones had left him in a private side room and told him to sleep. Yeah right, as if. There was a bathroom attached to this room, but the doc had provided a bucket in case he not make it to the toilet in time. Along with the bucket came the strict instructions to call for him if anything changed. Rolling onto his side Jim tried to sleep.

It must have worked, for that when he opened his eyes next, Jim didn't feel sick at all, he did however, feel very small, like the room had grown bigger around him. Pushing himself upright, he felt as if something was wrong, so looking down he saw his... paws? Dread creeping up on him, he twisted around and saw; yes he did in fact now have a tail. What the hell? How exactly did he turn into a dog? Thinking it was time to call McCoy in for back up, Jim tried to call out for him, but all that came out was a strangled whimper. Panicking, Jim jumped off the bed and tried to open the door, only to discover that he was far too small to reach the controls, even on his hind legs. For the next hour he whined and scratched at the door, seriously what else was he supposed to do, and attempted barking, which was pitiful at best. There was no way he was making enough noise for someone to hear, and to make matters worse, his tiny puppy bladder was full and he was locked in. Even more worrying, his mind seemed to be warring with dog-like instincts.

_Don't tell me I'm going to start thinking like a dog too, he begged silently._

Caught in indecision, he stood there in the middle of the room fighting the urge to simply raise his leg while attempting to convince himself to simply bark loud enough for Bones to hear and come help him. Eventually something broke, or rather burst, and a rapidly growing pool of urine covered the floor beneath him.

_Bones is going to kill me._

And yet he could not make himself move. He was filled with shame and embarrassment over what he had done, while scared that he was going to be in trouble for it, even though it was not his fault. Jim didn't know how long he stood there before he heard movement behind the door and looked up at a very shocked McCoy. Abandoning reason, Jim followed his instincts and shot into the corner, under a table. McCoy stared for another minute before backing out, calling for Spock and locking Jim in on his own again.

Spock:

Spock was relieved, not that he felt any such emotion, when Dr. McCoy asked him to come to sickbay as there was an emergency involving the captain. Knowing the captain's perpetual magnetism for trouble, he didn't find it hard to believe. Nyota on the other hand was not as forthcoming. She insisted on accompanying him and continuing their argument. Spock knew that in order for their relationship to survive, the issues that they were having needed to be addressed, the sooner, the better. In reality, Spock wanted to avoid the conversation for as long as possible, knowing that it would come down to a choice, put his friendship with the captain on hold so that he could spend more time with Nyota, or, watch as Nyota grew increasingly jealous of his time spent with Kirk. Arriving at sickbay, Spock greeted McCoy with a look.

'What trouble has Jim gotten into now?'

For a communications officer, Nyota Uhura could be very undiplomatic at times.

'I'm not entirely sure,' McCoy replied.

'Explain,' Spock did not understand the logic of being summoned for an emergency, when there was no emergency.

'He's... gone.'

'What do you mean he's gone?' a touch of concern entered Nyota's voice.

'I mean he came in earlier complaining of nausea, so I told him to spend the night in one of the side rooms. When I went to check on him, he was gone and no one saw him leave.'

'Sounds like Jim,' commented Nyota.

Her complete disregard to the captain's safety irked Spock for some unknown reason.

'Which room was he in?' Spock asked, focusing on the problem at hand.

'In this one, over here.'

McCoy led the couple to the door closest to his office, the one that would cause the most difficulty in sneaking out.

'What is that?' Nyota asked, noticing the yellow puddle on the floor.

'Oh, the puppy did that.'

'What puppy?' Spock asked, eyebrow climbing for his hairline.

'Oh there was a puppy in here when I came in, it ran under there,' replied McCoy pointing to the table in the corner.

'Not like Jim,' muttered Nyota, worried again.

Spock wondered over to the table and knelt down to take a look, his eyes making contact with a familiar set of blue ones. The puppy itself was unusual, tail between its legs and pressed into the corner, as it was. He had a white face, with a yellow patch on the top of his head, and a light brown coat, there was a white splash across his chest with a grey spot that was strikingly similar to that of the _Enterprise_. Spock carefully picked the puppy up, then hurriedly dropped him on the bed.

'Captain?'

The other two looked at him in shock.

'How...' began McCoy.

'When I picked him up, I felt his mind, it felt like the captain's.'

McCoy and Nyota were staring at the scared little puppy in shock.


	2. Two

Kirk:

Jim got quite the shock when Spock picked him up, he had not thought that anyone would touch him, come to think of it; he hadn't anticipated that they wouldn't simply know who he was. It was frightening to think, that they may not believe that he really was Jim Kirk and send him away.

'I'll have to run some tests, confirm that it really is him...' Bones began.

'Do you doubt my abilities?'

This was one argument he really hoped that Spock would win.

'You have to admit that it's really improbable.'

Why Uhura had to choose now to doubt her boyfriend, Jim couldn't understand.

'So I guess, that means you're looking after him hobgoblin.' Bones sounded alarmingly cheerful about that.

'I do not...'

'If, IF your theory is correct, then the less crew members who know about this the better, if you are wrong, then at least valuable time was not wasted by those who choose to believe in reality. Either way it would be unhygienic to have him there.'

Jim decided that even though he didn't believe Spock, Bones was at least trying to help him out in case he was wrong. Nothing could have been more embarrassing at the moment than having everybody poke at him, trying to work out what had happened. Except maybe that they all didn't realise that he could understand them, and were intent on treating him like a dumb animal. Obviously Spock hadn't picked up enough to realise that, or maybe being an animal blocked his telepathic abilities.

Bones picked up a hypo and came towards him. Without even thinking about it, Jim took a step back.

'Easy boy, I just need to take a sample,' Bones coaxed, as if he were some small child.

Jim kept backing up until he backed into the wall, and then kept pushing himself backwards, trying to avoid the hypo, which was HUGE.

Bones carefully held him, while he squirmed and took his sample. It took nearly everything he had not to yelp in pain. As soon as the hypo was gone, Bones stroked him, which was very weird to say the least. He scampered back to Spock and placed his front paws on Spock's shirt, silently begging his first officer to get him out of there.

'Aw, look he likes you.'

Uhura was beginning to annoy him.

Spock grabbed a blanket and swept him up in it, momentarily disorientating him, until he was resettled, wrapped up in the blanket, held against Spock's chest. No one questioned the move, although Bones gave the half-Vulcan a strange look. From this position, Jim could see out quite well, but people would have difficulty seeing what was in the blanket without coming close to the man carrying it. Jim blessed Spock's logic. Spock's body heat seeped through the blanket, lulling him into a drowsy doze. The next thing he knew, he was being tipped onto the cold floor of the bathroom that ran between his quarters and Spock's.

Spock:

He had taken the captain back to his quarters and deposited him on the bathroom floor, noticing the yawn that the pup let out.

'You should wash him, he smells like piss,' Nyota commented from behind him.

'How to you propose we do so?'

'We? Oh no Spock, this was your theory, you deal with it,' and with that she was out the door, leaving Vulcan and puppy alone together.

Spock ran the water in the sink, until it was warm, then carefully picked the captain off the floor and dunked him in it. The pup was small enough to fit without any hassle, his chest barely reaching higher than Spock's ankle. It took some doing, but Spock was able to fashion himself a pair of gloves using a spare handtowel, and scrubbing the captain clean. The captain himself seemed to understand what Spock wanted, raising his required leg as Spock grabbed it, holding still under the water and avoiding Spock's exposed flesh. As soon as the captain was clean, he turned the water off, scooped the pup up and grabbed a dry towel to dry him off with. He finished drying off the wriggling captain just as his comm. beeped. Answering it, he took a quick look about the state of the bathroom, noting the water on the floor and the dampness of his clothes.

'Commander, we need your help in one of the labs. One of the experiments has gone wrong but we're not sure which one or what went wrong, all we know is that there is a strange smell in the air and some of the crew are acting strange. We shut off the ventilation but we need help finding the source.'

'Noted I will be there shortly.'

Spock glanced at the captain, who was rolling about on the towel. He seriously doubted that this would take long, there wasn't much in the labs at the moment to have caused a reaction like the one described to him. He surely wouldn't be gone longer than ten minutes, half-hour tops, the captain was presently occupied and Spock didn't think that he would be missed. Slipping out of the bathroom, Spock changed into some dry clothes and headed out the door.

The lab turned out to be a disaster, and by the time the source of the leak was discovered, a broken gas pipe of all things, Spock only had just enough time to grab a quick breakfast before heading towards the bridge for his shift. He had the nagging suspicion that he had forgotten something, but dismissed the notion; Vulcans had impeccable memories, even if he was only half Vulcan. About a quarter of the way through his shift an ensign approached him and informed him that there had been reports of strange noises from his quarters, almost like a dog howling.

Spock thanked her and said that he would investigate. As soon as he was out of sight, he broke into a run, of all the stupid things to do; he had gone and forgotten the captain.


	3. Three

Kirk:

Kirk had been sufficiently distracted by attempting to scratch his back by rolling on the towel; it had worked to a certain degree. It had also prevented him from noticing Spock leave. Deciding that he might as well take full advantage of the situation and take a nap. Curling up on the blanket left of the floor, which was miraculously dry, Kirk fell asleep.

Kirk awake to discover two things: Spock hadn't come back yet, and he was really thirsty. Attempting to distract himself, Kirk decided to explore the bathroom from the viewpoint of a puppy; it wasn't as if he had taken a good look when he was a human either.

It provided a distraction for so long; there were only so many places to look at, and half of those he couldn't even reach. His gathering thirst wasn't helping; it took all the fun out of exploring. The sink was too high for him to reach, but by using the pipe as a step, he managed it. Kirk ran into his next problem, for that he had no way to turn the tap on. The next thought made him pause.

_Toilets have water in them._

If he drank from the toilet, he was pretty much confirming that he was now a dog, on the other hand, he didn't really have very many options at the moment. He put it off for as long as he could stand, but eventually need won. Clambering onto the bowl was easier said than done, it was quite slippery. He thanked his lucky stars that the lid wasn't down; he never would have been able to get it up. As he bent forward, his paws slipped on the smooth surface, sending him tumbling into the toilet itself. The water tasted funny, but it sated his thirst. Getting out again was the hard part; it required several attempts and water spilt over the floor before it was successful. Once he was out, Kirk became aware of his hunger that had taken hold of his stomach, that had been growing since his last meal, which would have been lunch, hours ago.

Kirk was also lonely, there was no one around, he was seemingly forgotten, even though he didn't mind being alone normally, something about being a puppy made the loneliness upsetting. As time wore on, there was nothing to distract him; he was bored, hungry and lonely. He began scratching at the door and barking, surely Spock was in his quarters and could hear him? When it began to be painfully obvious that no one was coming, Kirk curled back up in the blanket, burying his nose into the blanket where there was an interesting smell, which he presumed was Spock, trying to ignore the well of unhappiness inside of him. Part of him felt like crying, which was ridiculous, but before he could stop himself, he was howling, which made him feel batter, but now that he had started, he didn't want to stop.

 

 

Spock:

Spock entered his quarters and had to admit, the noises coming from the bathroom were akin to that of a dog howling. As soon as he opened the bathroom door however, the sound ceased immediately. Spock took a look around the bathroom, spotting his captain immediately, curled up in the blanket, half-pricked ears laid back, looking away in... shame. The bathroom itself was a mess, with objects and water strewn about the floor, and Spock didn't even want to know what that smell was coming from the shower.

'Captain,' Spock called.

The puppy sat up, but still seemed reluctant to come towards him, like the pup thought that he was in trouble.

'It's not your fault, it's mine, come here,' Spock tried again, crouching down.

The puppy picked himself up and slowly wandered towards him, tripping over his own feet as he did so. Spock led the pup back out into his quarters, realising that if he wanted the captain to survive, then he was going to have to do a better job of looking after him. Heading over to the bench, Spock replicated a solid bowl full of water, and a secondary bowl filled with cooked chicken. As a rule, Vulcans didn't consume meat, but dogs did and he was uncertain the effects of raw meat would have on Kirk. Besides, chicken was the least offensive to his sensitive nose.

He felt pressure on his leg and looked down to see the puppy on his hind legs, front paws resting on his thigh, tail wagging slightly, an almost begging look on his face. Spock placed the bowl of water on the floor and the pup sniffed it before sitting down, looking at the bowl in his hands and then down at the floor. Spock took the hint and placed the other bowl on the floor and watched as the pup clumsily started to wolf down the chicken. Nyota chose that exact moment to burst in.

'Spock do you have any idea how many people have been talking about a dog howling in your quarters!?' she screamed at him.

'The problem has been solved Nyota,' he replied calmly.

'What problem, where did you leave him?'

'In the bathroom.'

Nyota stormed off to take a look; it wasn't long before she was back.

'Spock, you are lucky he was able to drink out of the toilet, I'm pretty sure he would have dehydrated, if he hadn't.'

The puppy abandoned his food and butted his head against Nyota's leg, as if to say, "I'm here, I'm fine."

'Spock what happened,' she asked softly, attempting to stroke the pup, only to have him pull away.

'I washed him as you suggested, then I was commed and I got distracted.'

'In other words you forgot about him! You come up with this insane theory about how Kirk is now a dog and then you forget? What is wrong with you?!'

The puppy began to whine.


	4. Four

Kirk:

Uhura had started to yell at Spock and honestly, it wasn't his fault, he had been dumped with his captain-turned-puppy and had a momentary lapse. It wasn't as if Jim was upset all that much, it was an accident after all. Before he could help himself, he had begun to whine. He was beginning to just too just go with these puppy reactions, at the very least it attracted attention without him being told to butt out.

'Now look, you've upset him,' Uhura snapped.

Spock raised a single eyebrow, ' _I_  upset him?'

Jim backed away from both of them, tail between his legs and a whine escaping from him. He didn't like then fighting, it made him sad. Uhura shot him a look of pity before her expression hardened and she stalked back into the bathroom.

'Nyota...' Spock called out to her as he followed her in.

Kirk decided that now would be an excellent time to finish his meal, in peace. A few minutes later and the unhappy couple returned.

'I suppose I don't even get any thanks for cleaning up your mess?'

Kirk immediately wandered up and rubbed his forehead against her leg, hoping that the action would convey his thanks. Apparently it did.

'If only all guys were as thankful and appreciative as you,' Uhura commented, shooting Spock a meaningful look.

'Thank you Nyota, now if you excuse me, we both have jobs to get back to.'

Uhura snorted then stormed out, back stiff, head held high. Had Jim been human, he would have pointed out that girls didn't always appreciate guys being direct and to the point. Although at times, Jim would have liked it if girls were more direct. Spock opened the bathroom door and left it open before turning to leave for the remainder of his shift on the bridge.

'Captain,' Spock acknowledged as he left.

Jim waited a few minutes for Spock to come back before moving. He had never been in Spock's quarters long enough to have a good look around, by that he meant alone. Spock's quarters eventually became as boring as the bathroom and Jim decided that he was about ready for another nap. As he wandered towards the bed, he noticed that the closet door was a jar. Slipping inside, Kirk noticed that one of the shirts had come off its hanger and was now lying on the floor. The whole effect was very un-Spock like. Investigating further and Jim discovered the same smell as on the blanket in the bathroom. Definitely Spock's then. Curling up in it, Jim drifted back off to sleep.

When he woke, it was to the sound of someone calling for him. Reluctant to open his eyes, Jim remained curled up where he was. Footsteps were followed by light falling over him and Jim looked up at Spock and Bones, Bones with a hypo. Jim immediately backed away, into the corner. Not again, it hurt, he didn't want another hypo, he didn't need one.

 

Spock:

 

Spock ran into Dr McCoy on the way back to his quarters after his shift.

'Commander, a word?'

Spock nodded and they continued towards his quarters, Spock assumed that whatever McCoy wanted, it was about the captain.

'The results came back,' McCoy said after a moment.

'Did they confirm my theory,' Spock enquired, confident in the answer.

'They did, they also told me that he is suffering from a vitamin deficiency, it appears that his body is having trouble metabolising his requirements, it could just be from the shock of the transformation. At any rate, he will need a shot everyday to keep him healthy.'

Spock showed the doctor in before noticing he puppy's absence.

'Captain,' he called.

There was no answering patter of feet. McCoy noticed the closet door slightly open and directed his attention towards it. Spock pulled the door open to find a rather sleepy pup curled up in one of his Starfleet uniforms. As soon as the pup saw the hypo in McCoy's hand, he backed up, shaking, before making a break for it. McCoy caught the pup easily and administered the hypo, despite the pup's frantic attempts to escape. As soon as he was free, the pup shot under Spock's desk and refused to come out.

'Easy Jim,' McCoy coaxed, 'no more hypo see?'

The captain still refused to come out from under the desk.

'How intelligent is he?' Spock asked.

'You've spent more time with him, you tell me. But if what Uhura told me earlier, you probably wouldn't know.'

Spock felt his face tighten, although there was no outward change.

'Unless there is something else you need?' Spock commented, looking at the door.

McCoy opened his mouth, then decided better and exited the way he had entered. The pup crawled out from under the desk and lapped at his water, looking up now and then to watch Spock. Spock crossed the room and sat at his desk, pulling out his PADD to complete his paperwork. He couldn't have been at for more than five minutes before Nyota stalked in.

'Even when you're in the same room, you still ignore him,' she snapped.

Spock glanced at the pup, who had paused in eating the rest of his chicken to look at Nyota in confusion.

'Are you saying I don't pay enough attention to him?'

'I'm saying that you don't pay attention to anyone,' she snapped coldly.

'Since my paperwork has obviously had enough attention for the day, would you like to accompany me to lunch?'

Nyota hesitated, lunch sounded good but on the other hand, she wasn't sure that leaving Kirk alone again was such a good idea.

'What about Kirk?'

The pup tugged at her pants, as if to say _, go I'll be fine_. She bit her lip then nodded at Spock.

'Lunch sounds perfect.'

They couldn't have been more than three feet out the door, before she brought up forgetting Kirk that morning. It was really a tiring subject.


	5. Five

Kirk:

Kirk could hear the two of them arguing out in the hall, and privately he hoped that Uhura would see sense and give Spock a break. Blaming Spock for not paying her attention, then arguing with him when he did, would leave any guy confused, no wonder relationships fell apart so easily, women were just too hard to understand. Spock had a job to do, on top of looking after another creature which he had no sort of experience with, and pick up the slack in the captains absence. Seriously, when he was back to normal, he would give Spock a medal, then mandatory shore leave with Uhura. Hopefully one of them would be happy that way although he wouldn't have put it past Spock to attempt to smuggle work with him, one way or another.

Padding back to his bowl, Jim decided that finishing the rest of his meal was a good idea. He hoped that the two of them wouldn't be too long; Spock's quarters were unimaginable boring. An hour later and Jim was still on his own, so far he had resisted temptation in destroying anything in retaliation for leaving him alone, but the pillow on Spock's bed was beginning to look awfully tempting. Just as the idea of sinking is teeth into something and tear it apart in frustration became overwhelming, Jim heard voices out in the hall and realised the he had jumped up onto the bed without even noticing.

'All I'm saying is that how can you be responsible for someone who can't look after themself, when you can't even find the time to spend with the people in your life.'

Jim nearly cringed at Uhura's voice as she walked in. She spotted him and crossed the floor in order to pat him, but stopped when he squirmed away. It was just too weird.

'He doesn't like to be touched,' Spock commented from behind her.

'So just like you then,' she snapped, stalking out the door.

Jim looked at Spock with sympathy; Uhura was having a meltdown into a total bitch and was taking it out on Spock. Maybe she was pregnant. Spock looked at him wordlessly for a minute before sitting down and settling into what Jim recognised as a meditative pose. Jim nearly sighed; he would be left to entertain himself again while Spock was meditating. Still Jim couldn't blame him. Spock wasn't long in mediation however, as Jim's boredom grew, causing him to make noise and disturbing the Vulcan. Spock raised an eyebrow but said nothing, leaving Jim feeling like he was a naughty little kid who had been caught doing something wrong.

The door chimed, distracting the both of them and Spock opened it to reveal Bones.

'I need some data on the captain's intelligence,' Bones explained.

Jim nearly snorted. The tests Bones presented to him were childish at best and Jim decided that he wasn't going to behave himself for Bones until his friend stopped treating him like a dumb animal.

 

 

Spock:

Spock watched as Dr McCoy set up simple toys designed to develop a child's most basic reasoning and logic skills. Spock could see how they worked easily enough, but failed to see how someone without the use of hands would be able to operate such objects. Apparently the captain was equally unimpressed, and wore an expression that Spock could have sworn was disgust. As soon as the doctor was sufficiently distracted, the pup stole the PADD that McCoy had brought with him, pushing it across the floor and under the desk where it was not visible. Spock began to wonder if the captain was of a higher intelligence that anyone had given him credit for as of yet.

'Did you see where I put my PADD?'

Spock was saved from answering by the faint sound of cracking plastic. McCoy ducked under the desk to investigate and the captain slipped out just as McCoy pulled out the now rather chewed PADD.

'Rascal,' McCoy commented.

The pup responded by lifting his hind leg, making it clear what he intended to do.

'Oh no you don't,' McCoy said, lunging for the pup.

The pup skidded across the floor and slithered back into the slightly open closet. Spock was wondering if this was normal behaviour for a dog.

'I think, you should return and try again when the captain is feeling a little more co-operative,' Spock said, in his usual tone.

Without a word McCoy packed up and left, somewhat red in the face. Spock headed for the closet the minute the door to his quarters closed. There was a large bulge in the shirt on the floor that indicated the pup's chosen hiding place.

'Come out captain,' Spock coaxed, wishing he knew what he was doing, this was illogical to the extreme, 'McCoy is gone.'

'I was wondering what McCoy was doing in you quarters,' Nyota commented from behind.

Spock had been so preoccupied with the captain he had not heard her some in.

'I was not expecting you back so soon,' he commented.

'I was looking for my book, then realised that you still had it.'

'In the cupboard.'

As she pulled the door open, she saw the chess set sitting on the shelf. She pulled it out and turned to Spock, who had coaxed he pup out of the closet.

'Teach me to play?' she asked.

'Do you not already possess this knowledge?'

'I know the rules yes, but I'm nowhere close to being good.'

Spock considered the implications of the scenario before replying, 'very well, if you desire a chess match then we shall play.'

The pup jumped up and sat next to the board as they played, seemingly interested in what they were doing. Several matches later and Nyota's skills were improving marginally. He wondered if she was truly interested in improving her skills or if she was just trying to spend time with him, in an activity that he enjoyed.

* * *


	6. Six

Kirk:

 

Jim watched the two of them play chess, impressed that Uhura had taken it upon herself to try an activity that Spock enjoyed, as he was certain that most of the things that the two of them did together were things that Uhura enjoyed more so than Spock. At dinner time, the two of them left, after Spock refilled his bowl and Jim was beginning to feel sleepy again. Curling up against Spock's pillow, he dozed until he heard the door open. Spock entered and sat down next to him, seemingly lost as to what to do. Jim nudged him in encouragement and Spock began to speak.

'I don't know if you understand me or how much of what I say you understand, but as first officer, it is my duty to inform you of the ships status.'

Jim would have smiled if could have as Spock spent the next hour filling him on what was going on aboard the Enterprise. When Spock was finished, Jim let out an involuntary yawn, alerting Spock to his fatigue. Spock went over to the closet and pulled out the shirt Jim had taken a nap on earlier, folded it up and placed a spare pillow under it.

'Nyota said that a familiar smell comforts young animals, besides it would be more comfortable,' Spock explained.

Jim had to agree, he liked the closet, it felt safe and it would be more comfortable with the pillow, as for Spock's scent, well he wasn't objective to it. Spock went back to his paperwork while he curled up and went to sleep.

Over the next few days they settled into a routine. Spock would feed him in the morning, before he left for work, returning after his shift to check on him before accompanying Uhura to lunch, then spending half the afternoon in the labs. Kirk napped and kept himself entertained by playing himself at chess with the board, and if the pieces were scattered when Spock came back, nothing was said. The other half of the afternoon was spent with Spock at his desk, doing paperwork and filling Kirk in on how his ship was running. At dinner, Spock would leave and both he and Uhura would return, feeding Kirk on arrival and spending the evening playing chess, with Kirk watching. Bones would show up with the hypo as Uhura left, causing him to flee under the desk until he was dragged out and given his shot. Spock would talk to him afterwards, until Kirk was drowsy and headed to bed. Everything was going fine until one night Uhura brought up the idea of letting Kirk out during the day.

'You know that is against regulations,' Spock pointed out.

'So? He's the captain, bend the rules.'

Jim did not like where this was going and began to whine slightly.

'The crew believe the captain has become ill and is in quarantine in sickbay.'

'The crew also know that you have dog that no one is allowed to see.'

Jim saw only one way to end the argument before it truly started.

 

Spock:

 

Spock could not explain as to why he did not want the Captain to be outside his quarters, the thought of the ball of fur not in his line of sight worried him as a bad idea for no logical reason. As Nyota attempted to push her argument further, they were interrupted by a small bark. The both of them turned towards the sound to see the pup looking at them.

'What is it?' Spock asked.

The pup drew up one paw and tapped one of the pieces carefully, then tapped an unoccupied square, then repeated the process.

'It's a legal move,' Nyota commented uncertainly.

Spock moved the piece before commenting, 'Checkmate.'

'This is weird,' she said, uncertainty colouring her voice.

'Captain,' Spock spoke slowly, fully addressing the pup, 'do you understand us?'

The pup bobbed his head up and down in a nod.

'I'm getting McCoy,' Uhura said, bolting for the door.

Spock looked at the pup for a moment before resetting the chess board.

'Care for a match?'

The captain quickly settled himself into Nyota's now empty position, moving the pieces with the ease of practice and those that were difficult to manoeuvre, he tapped and Spock would obligingly move the piece for him. About half way through the match, the door opened and predictably, the pup shot under the desk as McCoy walked in.

'Don't even think of hiding on me, you little scamp,' McCoy retorted, dragging the wriggling captain out from under the desk, 'I need to take another look at you, scans, blood work, everything.'

The pup threw the doctor a disgusted look and attempted to wiggle free, Nyota letting out a small giggle at the sight.

'Doctor, exactly what is it that you are looking for?' Spock enquired.

'Anything to explain how the captain of the Enterprise managed to turn himself into a dog. I will need to see him at least once a day from now on.'

The captain stuck his tongue out into a definite "yuck" face.

'Don't pull that face, unless of course you want to be this way forever.'

It never ceased to baffle Spock how quickly the captain would behave for McCoy, despite it being well known that Jim Kirk would rather suffer then allow his CMO to fuss over him.

The both of them watched as McCoy ran his tricorder over the pup, drew a blood sample and then gave him his hypo shot for the day. As soon as he was finished, McCoy took his leave, with Nyota following, claiming that she was behind in her reports. Spock knew that she was lying but said nothing of it, figuring that she was a little embarrassed to realise that the captain was so intimate with their arguing. The two of them passed the rest of the evening playing chess, like they used to do before Jim sprouted four legs and fur, not to mention the tail.


	7. Seven

Kirk:

 

Jim had developed a new passionate hatred for Bones' hypos over the last week, as the man had taken to stabbing him with them twice a day, once in the morning and then again at night. He was also upset with the current rumour mill of his condition. Uhura was trying stick to story that he was sick, but not with much success, he had overheard her in the hall as she was caught out and blundered her way out of it. Spock had informed him that the rumours of him being a dog had gone around the entire ship, with crew members commenting that Spock was hiding away the captain like a mistress. This last piece of information made up Kirk's mind about what to do. The next morning he sat at the door and barked to get Spock's attention.

'What is the matter cap... Jim?'

Jim had taken to barking whenever Spock called him 'Captain', Spock had quickly picked up that Jim had objected to being called by his rank.

Jim scratched at the door, looking back over his shoulder at Spock before turning back to the door and barking.

'Do you want to go out?'

Jim nodded, Bones hadn't been in with the hypo yet, maybe if he got lucky, he could miss it this morning, regardless if Bones said it was important. Spock approached the door, as if unsure that he understood what Jim was asking for, despite their conversations becoming less one sided as Jim invented more ways to express what he wanted to say, and Spock learned what he meant. This was usually after an hour of Spock asking yes or no questions to discover what Jim was trying to say to him. Uhura found it strange and was prone to giving the both of them weird looks when they started talking to each other. She was still sour that she lost at chess to a puppy, her only consolation was that Spock lost to him to, but at least she was a good sport. Spock opened the door and headed out a little earlier than usual, he normally waited for Bones to come by before leaving for his shift. Jim patted out the door and started to head towards the turbo lift, Spock right behind him. Jim was disappointed when Spock programmed it to head for sickbay floor, apparently leaving Spock's quarters did not entitle him to missing out on Bones' morning visit. When Spock left the lift, Jim stayed sitting on the floor.

'Coming captain?' Spock asked.

Jim ignored the use of his rank and shook his head.

'Do not make me pick you up,' Spock threatened.

So far Spock was the only person who actively avoided touching him. On occasion Uhura would reach out to stroke him, only to have him pull away, and Bones usually had a hypo waiting for him. It was weird and people touching him never had a happy ending.

Jim reluctantly removed himself from the lift and followed Spock to sickbay, where his arrival caused quite an alarm.

 

 

 

Spock:

 

Spock was unsure why Jim's sudden presence in sickbay would cause such a commotion, he assumed that most of them would know about Jim's true condition, but from the reaction they got, he realised otherwise.

'In here,' McCoy called out from his office.

The two of them slipped in and the door shut behind them.

'I take it this was your doing,' McCoy addressed Jim.

Spock wondered if McCoy was annoyed at Jim or the disruption to his sickbay, his unasked question was shortly answered as McCoy ran the usual tests on the pup, a pup that was begging to grow.

'Have you discovered what is causing his condition yet,' Spock enquired, not expecting an affirmative answer.

'Kind of, his cells seem to be holding onto some sort of weird energy, releasing it slowly, if I'm right, when the energy is gone, he will return back to normal.'

'How long until he returns to normal?'

'Hard to say, I can't measure how much of this energy his cells are containing, or how fast the energy is dissipating. This could last a few more minutes, days, years or even never.'

'If the energy is dissipating how could the condition never reverse itself?'

'I can't tell if the energy is being replenished at a rate greater or equal to that of the energy being released then this could well be permanent. I'm hoping with more data, I can find a way to measure the energy levels.'

'Hoping is not productive.'

'Hope motivates production,' McCoy shot back coolly.

Both men were distracted by a bark at the door. Jim stood on his hind legs, leaning against the door, waiting to be let out.

'If he keeps growing like this, he will be able to let himself out, then there'll be trouble,' McCoy retorted drolly.

Spock was inclined to agree, Jim had started out as a tiny pup hardly taller than his ankle, who was now about a third of the way up his shin. Of course that might of had something to do with the captain's inability to stop eating, consuming the same amount of food as a small child per day. Spock bid the doctor good day and headed for the bridge.

If the pup's presence in sickbay caused a stir, then the reaction from the bridge crew was close to that of a small riot. It didn't help matters when the captain took a running leap and landed in the captain's chair, sitting to attention, as if this was another ordinary day at work. Nyota's expression reminded Spock that there were certain precautions that needed to be addressed, it was only through sheer diligence that Starfleet had yet to learn of the condition that had befallen the captain of the Enterprise. Both Spock and McCoy had agreed that being sent back to star command was not in the captain's best interests.

'So the captain's chair will be occupied by a dog today?' Nyota asked, flashing a winning smile.

'The captain's chair is currently occupied by the captain,' Spock returned neutrally.


	8. Eight

Kirk:

Jim watched Spock inform the crew of his current situation, and didn't miss the eye roll Uhura shot his first officer when he mentioned that Kirk could communicate quite well. Spock evidently did. The bridge crew were on edge, shooting Jim strange looks and watching him out of the corner of their eyes. Jim attempted to maintain an aura of captainly interest, but ruined the effect by taking a nap after learning that looking at the same stuff for a week, because you were travelling so slow due to the engines being repaired and upgraded simultaneously, was rather boring. On the bright side, according to Scotty's report, the engines should be more efficient than ever when he was done. Should being the operative term. Jim sprawled out across the chair until the end of the shift, so far no one had attempted to talk to him, not even Spock, but then again there was nothing to talk about. When Spock rose to leave, Kirk followed him, to murmurs by the others. As the two of them headed down the hall to the mess hall, Kirk abruptly decided that he had had enough of the stares for one day and tugged on Spock's pants to get his attention.

'Captain,' Spock acknowledged.

Kirk headed back up the hall, towards the turbo lift, stopping every couple of seconds to check if Spock was following. He wasn't. Kirk barked, to get Spock moving, causing several people passing to openly stare. Spock apparently got the hint and followed him back down the hall. Kirk sat in the turbo lift when Spock arrived.

'Where exactly do you wish to go?'

Kirk had to stop and think about how to tell Spock, words were failing him after all. He resorted to tapping Spock's leg then laying down on the ground, having to go through the motions several times in response to Spock's raised eyebrow. He must have understood though, as he programmed in the floor to his quarters. Kirk slipped past the moment the lift stopped and sat outside the door, waiting to be let in. Spock obligingly opened the door and Kirk entered, just in time to hear Uhura down the corridor.

'Spock, please tell me you aren't locking him away because people are talking!'

Kirk stuck his head back out the door.

'Coming for lunch?' she asked him, ignoring Spock's attempt to explain.

Kirk shook his head and withdrew back into room.

'I am not locking him away, I was simply trying to give him what he wanted.'

'Oh so you'll give Kirk what he wants, but not me?'

'He asked,' Spock retorted, 'and despite my telepathic abilities, I do not make a habit of reading other people's minds.'

'Fine, let's go to lunch so I can explain it then. No offense but this whole situation is weird.'

Spock shut the door and Kirk heard them leave before entering the bathroom. He had been in Spock's quarters so long that he had forgotten how warm they were, his trip out this morning had reminded him and he needed to cool off.

 

 

 

Spock:

 

Spock had to admit that Nyota's wants were simple enough, all she craved was some time with him, alone. Kirk's presence had "put a dampener on the mood" as she put it, and Spock agreed to find a way to distract the captain so that they could enjoy some time together. Heading back to his quarters, Spock outlined his plan for getting some time alone, which consisted mainly of leaving Kirk with McCoy for some tests.

'How exactly are you going to convince McCoy to take Jim in order to run tests? For that matter, how are you going to convince him to run the tests to begin with?' Nyota asked.

'He mentioned the other day that he was hoping that more data would give him answers. Simply telling him that he is not running the proper tests should be enough,' Spock replied.

'Kirk wont forgive you, he avoids medicals whenever possible, being submitted to McCoy for more than a few hours is going to make him feel like a lab rat.'

'If I explain the situation...'

'He will hate you more, thinking that you did it for selfish reasons, rather than out of concern for him.'

Spock considered her words carefully, 'so you want me to lie?'

'It's not a lie if the other person simply thinks it was for different reasons than that which it is.'

'I find the concept very confusing.'

'Trust me Spock; it will work, assuming that you can get McCoy to take him to begin with.'

Spock opened his mouth to argue that trust in her wasn't the issue when his comm. beeped.

'McCoy to Spock.'

'Doctor,' Spock answered.

'Commander, I think I've figured out a way to measure the energy levels, but I'm going to need Kirk for a while to run more tests to be sure.'

Nyota smiled at him, 'see, don't even need to suggest it.'

'When did you need him?' Spock asked, ignoring her.

'In about an hour, if that works for you.'

'I'll make sure that he's available,' Spock promised.

Nyota was beaming at him, obviously pleased by the recent turn of events, and the prospect of several Kirk free hours that were ahead. The two of them entered Spock's quarters and looked for the troublesome pup, locating him sprawled out in the bathroom.

'Your quarters are probably too hot for him,' Nyota commented, reaching down to scratch behind Kirk's ears, watching him pull away.

'Has it not occurred to you that he does not like to be touched?'

'McCoy touches him.'

'McCoy doesn't have any choice,' Spock answered.

The need not to be touched was one he understood, and for humans, this concept was often difficult to understand. Spock grabbed a towel and ran it under the tap, soaking it in cold water before spreading it out on the floor. Nyota stared but Kirk got up and sprawled on it.

 


	9. Nine

Kirk:

Kirk understood that the towel was meant to cool him off, which it did, and was vaguely annoyed that Spock and Uhura were arguing again. He was more annoyed that she was constantly trying to touch him, although he had to admit she smelled good, even better then Spock, not that he would even admit to the fact he thought Spock smelled good.

'So,' Uhura commented voice suddenly seductive, 'did you want to touch each other?'

'I cannot fathom a reason as to why the captain and I would want to touch each other,' Spock replied.

Kirk pulled a paw over his eyes, resting it on his muzzle in a puppy face-palm. He so did not want to see the look on Uhura's face right now. Jim heard Spock's door open and shut and he looked up to see Spock looking at him.

'I am unsure what she took to be offensive.'

Kirk puppy face-palmed again, for even with the gift of words Jim was unsure if he could explain to Spock what just happened.

'She asked a question, in which I answered fully; I cannot fathom why she would be upset.'

Kirk realised that this was Spock's way of asking him for help on the matter, so resorted to shaking his head. Spock's left eyebrow rose towards his hairline. Kirk pointed one paw at Spock, then pointed at himself then shook his head, slowly completing each movement. He kept repeating the action until the eyebrow sunk back into its proper position.

'Are you trying to tell me that she was inferring that she and I...'

They were interrupted by the door chiming, with Kirk giving a quick abrupt nod, which he was positive that Spock caught.

'Doctor,' Spock greeted.

Kirk sat back on his hunches, caught between curiosity as to why Bones was there and the need to hide from over enthusiastic doctors with hypos. Curiosity won out and Jim cautiously made his way out of the bathroom, poised to flee at a moment's notice should a hypo appear.

'Jim,' Bones greeted him, 'I need to run some more tests, unless of course you want to stay as a puppy?'

Jim cocked his head at his friends before retreating slowly backwards, he was not a lab rat damn it! Spock seemed to have picked up on his mood and interjected before there was an escape attempt.

'Mind if I watch?'

Bones looked at the half Vulcan as if sizing him up, 'Why would you want to come along?'

'I find the whole situation fascinating, plus I believe you are less likely to be dealing with a fugitive with my presence.'

Spock was giving him that look that promised trouble should Jim misbehave himself. Jim wouldn't have put it past Spock to lock him permanently in sickbay to teach him a lesson in looking after himself.

'Don't you want to spent time with Uhura?' Bones wheedled.

'I miss construed something she said earlier and is consequently she is rather upset with me.'

 

 

Spock:

 

McCoy had grumbled before acquiescing to his request, agreeing that the Cap... Jim posed a flight risk. It had taken nearly ten minutes to acquire the four legged captain, twice he slipped out of McCoy's grip and the threat of being picked up was ignored. Spock resorted to entrapping the pup in the wet towel from the bathroom and restricting the wriggling movement. In so doing, Kirk accidentally brushed up against his hand and Spock was given the brief image of a rat in a cage. The image was curious, but it was filed away for later interpretation.

The trip to sickbay turned more than a few heads, but thankfully no one approached either of the two men, but Spock had no doubt that it would be all over the ship within the hour. Once inside a private room, with the door firmly shut, Spock freed the squirming captain, who backed up into the wall, tail between his legs and shaking. McCoy busied himself with a piece of equipment and left Spock alone with the now terrified pup.

'Does this have anything to do with the image of a rat in a cage?' Spock asked him quietly.

The pup looked up at him, ears laid back and hackles slightly raised. Spock sat next to him, hoping that the captain would be able communicate what was wrong. The pup looked away before rubbing along Spock's hand. It wasn't like reading a human mind; it was distorted and conveyed mostly in images. Yet the feeling of being trapped, the loss of freedom and fear of losing something, Spock was unsure of what exactly, but the mast logical answer would be pride, were coming through clearly.

Spock continued to stroke the pup, feeling the silky smooth fur under his fingers, calming the pup with the action. When Jim had calmed down enough to begin to relax, Spock with drew his hand to find McCoy looking at him.

'Does he allow you to touch him like that often?' McCoy asked.

Both Spock and Jim shook their heads with Spock adding, 'He normally won't let anyone touch him at all.'

'Hm,' was the only reply.

'He is however worried about being put through these tests.'

'Aye, having someone poke and prod at ya to work out what's wrong can be undignified at best.'

Dignity then, not pride.

Spock watched closely as McCoy put Jim through several tests, none of them as invasive as Jim had thought and two hours later McCoy was able to start giving some answers.

'The energy does appear to be dissipating faster than it is replenished, I would say that this won't last longer than a month at most, a week at the very least.'

Jim wagged his tail at the news and Spock was relieved at the news, at least things would soon be back to normal.

'When the energy fully dissipates, then all effects will be reversed,' Spock wanted to clarify.

'There might be some residual effects, but they should theoretically fade in time. So just ignore it if he starts scratching his face with his foot, rather than his hand.'

* * *


	10. Ten

Kirk:

Jim had ignored Bones' comment and was currently working on how to open the door without raising attention to himself. He was conflicted about Spock stroking him, on the one hand it had been soothing, on the other it felt weird, very, very weird. Using an overturned box as a step, Kirk was able to open the door and slip out before the two men noticed he was missing. From there it was simply a matter of timing to walk out when someone opened the door. So far no one had seen him. Travelling down the corridor he ran into a problem. There was no way he could activate the turbo lift on his own. He was debating on whether or not he should go back or wait until someone came along when Chekov arrived.

'Keptain, I vos looking for Kommander Spock, hav you seen him?'

Kirk briefly though about saying yes before shaking his head.

'Zulu and I hav data analysis to show him, vould you like to take a look?'

Kirk nodded and followed the ensign into the lift. Chekov took him to a rec room that was empty, save for Sulu, which was fortunate because Kirk was in no mood to deal with the staring.

As he settled himself on a chair between the two of them, he realised that they weren't treating him as a dumb animal, but they weren't treating him like a freak either. It was nice, so far Uhura was overly cautious around him and Bones concentrated more on the medical mumbo jumbo than him. The only other person who had treated him this way was Spock, who was probably using logic to dictate his actions. Kirk stayed even after the two of them had taken him through the data analysis and was quite relaxed.

'May I?' Chekov asked raising a hand to pet him.

Kirk hesitated, then decided that he wanted to see if it was the same as with Spock and nodded. Besides, Chekov was the first to ask. Chekov lightly ran his hand down his back and repeated the motion. It was as calming as it was with Spock but weirder. Jim pulled away and Chekov took the hint and stopped.

'I apologize Keptain.'

Kirk nodded and Sulu commented, 'I think you're forgiven.'

The slight rumbling in his stomach told Kirk that he should probably be going, Bones had probably had an aneurism when he was discovered missing and Uhura was probably blaming Spock by now.

'How about I walk you back to Spock's?' Sulu asked, as Kirk rolled his eyes.

Sulu flashed Chekov  _that_  look as he promised to see him later. Kirk wondered how long it had being going on between them or if they were just oblivious. Sulu walked him right to Spock's door and rang the chime, waiting for the door to open before leaving.

 

 

Spock:

Spock had watched McCoy's face change colour faster than normal when he turned around and discovered that the captain was gone. The pup had managed to escape undetected, and Spock had done nothing to find him. Nyota had run a cursory search using the ship's computer, but turned up nothing, she had recommended not casting a ship wide message to avoid inciting panic. Spock had agreed, but didn't tell Nyota about the feeling of worry nagging at him, he had to trust in his captain to come home.

'You know, this is completely the opposite opinion you had when I brought up letting him out,' she commented, 'I was under the impression that you would be searching every room for him by now.'

'Maybe there was someone else I found to spend my time with,' Spock replied making her smile.

'Maybe the problem is we need to spend more time together, alone.'

The door chimed and Uhura climbed off Spock's lap in order for him to open it. The door opened to reveal Sulu with Kirk at his heals. Kirk nodded at Sulu before entering.

'Night captain,' Sulu called as he left.

'How about we go to dinner?' she asked smiling.

Dinner turned out to be a tense affair. Three separate crewmembers asked if she, Kirk and Spock were all in a relationship, all of them asking when Spock was out of hearing. Not the most pleasurable of evenings. Even so it was later than usual before Spock decided that he had been there long enough, he had not refilled Kirk's bowl before he left and did not want to make him wait too long.

'Nyota, I need to get back to the captain.'

'Of course you do,' she snapped at him.

'I am unsure of your meaning,' Spock said, not understanding.

Nyota stood, yelling at him, 'Of course you need to get back to Kirk, everybody thinks you love him more than me. So you might as well go and be with him.'

There was dead silence in the mess hall as she stormed out, and after a moment of hesitation, Spock exited.

Turning to face him she hissed, 'Leave me alone Spock, if you actually bothered to pay attention, you would know that the whole crew are talking about this, like I don't even matter.'

'I do not understand, you are very important.'

'Yet I still feel like you don't care and just so you know, sometimes I wish you would spend half as much time with me as you do with Kirk,' she said leaving again.

Spock simple let her be and headed back to his quarters, not sure how to remedy the situation. Kirk was sprawled out on the bed, dozing slightly, but was quickly awake when he heard Spock come in Spock fed him and apologised, but Kirk kept looking back at the door as if expecting someone.

'Nyota will not be joining us tonight,' Spock clarified.

Kirk tilted his head to the side, meaning that he did not understand.


	11. Eleven

Kirk:

Kirk was confused when Spock told him that Uhura was not joining them, she always stayed after dinner, it was just what they did, it had become a part of their normal routine. He tilted his head to let Spock know that he did not understand.

'I am unsure if she wishes to remain in a romantic relationship with me. I believe her to be quite jealous, as she announced to the entire mess hall that everyone believes me to love you more than her, then told me she wanted to spend more time with me.'

Kirk stared then puppy face-palmed, he was going to give them both a kick up the arse for this, but he needed to know what Uhura felt at the moment. He walked over to the door, and barked, Spock opened it for him.

'She will not listen, you know that.'

Kirk ignored him and raced off. Uhura's quarters were on the same level, but on the other side of the deck. He was panting when he arrived, but he didn't care, he would stay outside her door all night if he had to. He barked, scratched and whined for at least ten minutes before she finally opened the door.

'Go away, this is your fault,' she snapped at him, tears on her face.

He whined and butted his head across her leg.

'I said go away,' she yelled, grabbing an object and throwing it at him.

It missed, as did the second object she threw, but the third one didn't. It smacked into his left shoulder and sent him tumbling into the wall, bashing his head in the process. Kirk let out a yelp of pain, only to receive a sob and a shut door in response. Jim was dizzy when he stood and there was a shooting pain through his left foreleg, increasing the dizziness when he put weight onto the limb. Limping, Kirk made his way back to Spock's, whimpering when he had to put weight on his injured leg. The bark he let out to inform Spock of his arrival was weak at best, but Spock still heard him and opened the door.

'Are you alright?'

Kirk ignored him, he wasn't hungry anymore, he just felt sick, he wanted to curl up in his own misery and sleep. He slipped into the closet and curled up, letting out another whimper as he did so. He hadn't taken to sleeping in the closet recently, preferring to sleep out where there were people, where it was less lonely. For now all Kirk wanted was to be left alone. He looked up as Spock opened the door and crouched down to talk to him face to face.

'You are hurt.'

It wasn't question and Kirk looked away, not wanting Spock to know how much it hurt. Spock evidently didn't want to intrude, as he shut the door again, leaving it open just enough that Jim could get out again if he wanted. Jim began whimpering to himself, feeling the misery well up within him, until it burst forth in a howl.

 

 

Spock:

 

Spock had seen Jim limping when he returned, he assumed that he had fallen while running, not as common nowadays as he gained coordination over his extra feet. But the captain had been walking crookedly, like there was more going on than a slightly sore leg. He had ignored dinner and gone to curl up in the closet, which was an unusual practice for Jim, preferring to sleep out in the open, he hadn't used the closet since his first few nights, preferring the company offered. Something was off. Opening the cupboard, he took in Kirk's curled up form, left foreleg held carefully so not to be jarred.

'You are hurt,' he could only conclude that something had happened at Nyota's.

Jim looked away and Spock realised that he wanted to be left alone. Spock gave him his space and tried to meditate. The whimpering from Jim wasn't helping and Spock abandoned meditation altogether when the howling began. Spock opened the closet and rested his palm on his friend's head. The images he picked up stirred something inside of him. Nyota had deliberately thrown something at the captain and injured him, hurting not just his body but his feelings as well. Kirk stopped howling and exerted a small snuffling sound instead. Spock wondered if the pup was crying. 'I'll get McCoy,' Spock promised.

He picked the pup up carefully and deposited him in the bathroom, before heading back out to comm. McCoy.

'McCoy, your assistance is required in my quarters immediately.'

'What happened to Jim?,' came the reply.

'Unclear,' Spock did not think it wise to tell the details over a comm. link.

Spock returned to the bathroom to find Kirk shaking where he left him.

'Do you need anything?'

Spock's question was answered when Kirk vomited. Spock grabbed a damp towel and cleaned up the pup, wrapping him in another, dry towel, and opened the other door in the bathroom and took Kirk back into his own quarters. Spock hoped that the familiar surroundings would help Kirk. Laying the towel on Kirk's bed, Spock watched as Kirk gave a half-hearted sniff of the covers before curling up on himself again. Spock heard the chime in his quarters, and went to answer it, he was beginning to worry about Kirk, there was something very wrong with him.

'Doctor,' he greeted in his usual manner.

McCoy looked around and Spock led him through the bathroom to Kirk's quarters. McCoy was gentle as he examined Kirk, muttering under his breath the whole while.

'What happened?'

'He went to see Lieutenant Uhura and came back like this.'

McCoy began to bandage Kirk's injured shoulder.

'Well, he has some swelling, and appears to be in shock, I'm not trained in animals so I can't be more specific. Make sure he drinks and try to get him to eat if you can. Keep an eye on him tonight, and I'll check-in in the morning. Call me if anything changes.'


	12. Twelve

Kirk:

Kirk heard Bones leave and Spock accompany him. He kept his eyes closed and wished for sleep, the dizziness coming and going. The dizziness was causing nausea, but had subsided since he was sick, the warmth of the blanket was helping. There were footsteps as Spock returned, and Kirk pretended to be asleep.

'Jim,' Spock called, 'Jim.'

Jim reluctantly opened his eyes to look at Spock, who was holding out the water bowl.

'Drink,' Spock's tone made it an order.

Kirk lapped at the water without much interest, but stopped when the nausea increased. He didn't even bother to try and sit up when Spock offered him food, the smell alone was making him feel sick. Spock set both bowls down at the end of the bed and tucked the blanket properly around him.

'If you need anything, come get me,' Spock said before leaving.

The night passed quietly, with Spock coming in and waking him up every few hours and making him drink. He wasn't sick again but the nausea didn't fully dissipate. When Kirk finally awoke on his own, it was late morning and Spock was already gone. Jim didn't mind it so much since it was a change from being fussed over. He wondered what would happen between Spock and Uhura the next time that they met. The door to his quarters opened and Kirk looked up, not expecting anyone.

'Just me,' Bones said smiling tightly.

Jim crawled over to the end of the bed, his injured leg stiff and sore.

'I don't know if you heard, Spock said that you were still asleep when he left, but there was a fight in the mess hall this morning. Spock filled me in on what he knew what had happened so I went and asked Uhura for her story and she's really sorry she hurt you, but I may have overreacted at any rate. Anyway, Spock stepped in and things are still dicey between those two but I think they'll get through it,' Bones hesitated before continuing, 'Uhura wanted to come see you and apologise, if you want that is.'

Kirk nodded not really caring, he was hurt that she blamed him for what went on between her and Spock, and for throwing things at him. But if she felt bad, then he should at least give her the chance to make up for it, besides he didn't have accept her apology. Bones left and returned several minutes later with Uhura in tow, her face was averted and Kirk realised that she may have been ashamed of her actions.

'I'm so sorry Kirk, I didn't mean to hurt you, I was just angry and I needed someone to blame and it shouldn't have been you. Please forgive me.'

Kirk could see that she was close to crying again and knew that she meant it, so he nodded his head, wondering if she was simply jealous or if there was a bigger issue at hand.

 

Spock:

Spock had spent all night checking in on the pup next door regularly, but had decided to let him sleep when he left. He had commed. McCoy to let him know and headed to the mess hall. He was just about ready to head for the bridge when the sounds of arguing reached the mess hall. McCoy and Nyota strode in, both of them red faced and angry.

'If you feel bad about something, shouldn't that be an indication that you shouldn't have done it to begin with?'

'If I knew what would happen, I wouldn't have done it!'

'You're just lucky it hit his shoulder and not his head! You could have killed him!'

Spock had decided that it was time to intervene, there were already enough people staring because of Nyota's outburst last night, this was not helping matters. It was a wonder that he whole of Starfleet didn't already know what was going on.

'Doctor, Nyota, what's done is done; now I suggest that the both of you let this go and return to work.'

'I want to see him, I need to apologise,' Nyota interjected.

'He is asleep, it would not be wise to disturb him at this time,' Spock replied, not even looking at her.

Nyota opened her mouth to protest then back stiff, she exited the mess hall. McCoy nodded at him and Spock took his leave to begin his shift. Things were tense on the bridge, with crew members' gaze flickering between himself and Nyota and their work stations. McCoy showed up halfway through sift and went to speak with Nyota. Spock's sensitive Vulcan hearing heard every word.

'Kirk agreed to see you, five minutes and I will throw you out if I smell trouble.'

Nyota nodded and left, returning tem minutes later, looking the happiest Spock had seen her all day. After shift ended, Spock headed back to his quarters and found Kirk playing chess against himself.

'Did you see Nyota?'

Kirk nodded.

'Did she apologise?'

Another nod.

'Did you forgive her?'

A hesitation then another nod.

Spock sat down and hesitated before asking, 'do you?'

Kirk nodded and moved a piece seemingly without much thought, he seemed distracted.

'I wish to speak with Nyota, alone. Would you object to spending time with McCoy while we talk?'

The pup shook his head and Spock commed. Nyota and McCoy to fill them in. They were surprisingly onboard with the plan, agreeing much quicker than he thought they would. Spock could have left Jim where he was, but he was concerned about the emotional state of his captain. He was still withdrawn and moody, most illogical yet Spock understood. The door chimed and Spock went to answer it, noting that Kirk was now moving the pieces illegally and without much direction.

'Spock,' Nyota greeted coolly.

'Nyota, Doctor,' Spock responded.

'Spock,' answered McCoy.

Kirk seemed to be watching them, as if waiting for something, before sweeping his paw over the board and sending the pieces flying. The three of them flinched.

* * *


	13. Thirteen

Kirk:

Kirk didn't notice when the others reacted to his actions, absorbed in his boredom, it had been a boring day, not being able to move properly was rather annoying. He jumped off the bed and headed to the door, walking out only after checking to see if McCoy was following him, ignoring the stab of pain from jarring his shoulder. He knew his way to McCoy's quarters and was there in no time.

'Jim,' McCoy called, 'I have to pick something up from sickbay, will you be alright for ten minutes or so?'

Jim snorted and nodded, seriously he had been on his own most of the day, ten more minutes wouldn't hurt. McCoy let him in and departed back to sickbay, while Jim explored the doctors quarters fully. There was a hint of something in the air that was somehow familiar, and it quickly began to bug him. Following his nose, Jim traced the source of the smell to a cupboard that wasn't closed properly, like it had been shut in a hurry. Curious, Jim pulled it open with his paw, the hastily put away object tumbling out onto the floor as he did so. The object turned out to be a bottle, filled with what Kirk now recognised as whiskey. Damn good whiskey.

Jim was caught, there was no way Bones was going to be happy if he drank his alcohol, but then again, he doubted that the man would miss a sip or two. Jim manoeuvred the bottle so that it sat between his paws, the cap within bitting distance. He hesitated, he had no idea how his body would react, and it probably wasn't a good idea to start drinking at this time of day, but what the hell.

He gripped the cap between his teeth and slowly tipped his head, unscrewing the lid slightly. He let go and repeated the process until the lid was loose enough for the contents to spill out from under it. Kirk sipped the amber liquid, not stupid enough to gulp it down; it would be such a waste of good brew. It had such an intriguing flavour, not like he remembered and he wasn't too sure if he could describe it. He waited a few moments to see if there were any sudden effects, and discovering none, bar the forming of a "happy buzz", took another sip. Several sips later and the bottle slipped, lid coming fully off and the contents spilling out. Kirk began lapping it up and jumped when he heard a voice behind him.

'What do you think you're doing?'

Kirk spun around and saw Bones in the doorway, only to have the room continue spinning after he stopped. Uncoordinated on his feet, Kirk tried to sit and fell over.

'You're drunk,' a statement, not a question.

Jim was inclined to agree, the nauseas bile threatening to make an appearance. Bones scooped him up and deposited him in the shower, just in time for him to throw up. Bones muttered something under his breath.

 

Spock:

 

'All I'm saying is that when you have to motivate yourself to make someone happy, instead of wanting to, the relationship may not be right.'

'You think that I do not want to make you happy?' Spock clarified.

'I'm saying, that maybe we shouldn't have to try this hard all the time,' Uhura said sadly, 'and I think we need to take a break, at least for a while.'

'So you are ending our arrangement.'

'I don't know Spock,' she said taking his hands in hers, 'I'm confused and it's turning me into a person who I'm not.'

There was silence between them for a moment, before Nyota stood, making it clear that she was leaving. Before she could however there was a chime at the door. Opening it revealed McCoy.

'Hope, I'm not interrupting,' he said, looking between the two.

'No I was just leaving,' Nyota said with a sad smile.

McCoy hesitated before asking, 'actually I was hoping you would stay.'

'Doctor, I trust you are here with good reason,' Spock said.

'I am,' he said unwrapping the bundle in his arms, revealing a rather sluggish pup.

Spock raised an eyebrow.

'He somehow managed to get into my liquor cabinet.'

'He is drunk,' Spock stated.

'Very, he'll have rough time 'till he's sober again and I wasn't exactly prepared for a special case.'

'You wish for us to look after him again,' Nyota surmised.

'Aye, if you would.'

Spock took the bundle and McCoy excused himself, leaving it rather awkward in the room. Kirk opened one bleary eye and looked miserable. Spock understood the sentiment; Nyota's sentiments had hurt more than he thought and he was... disappointed that he would no longer be spending as much time in her company as usual. He sat on the bed and laid the pup down carefully, worried that movement would cause his friend to vomit, he was unsure as to what exactly to expect. Kirk wriggled out of the blanket he was wrapped in and sprawled out on the bed next to Spock. Nyota traced the grey splotch on Kirk's chest.

'The Enterprise follows wherever you go.'

The pup rolled his eyes, then began to heave slightly, crawling over to the edge of the bed before being sick. Spock silently rose and cleaned up the mess, watching as Kirk wagged his tail sluggishly in thanks. Nyota sat next to him and stroked him lightly, Kirk allowing it for once.

'You are a mess aren't you,' she commented.

Spock realised that she was right before, that this side to her had not been evident in awhile, around the time they had been distracted by their own lives and spent less time together on their own, around the time he had started to neglect her.

'For a communications officer, I seem to express my feelings poorly.'

'You have a way with words, not with emotion, something we both have in common.'


	14. Fourteen

Kirk:

Kirk was only half aware of what was going on around him, but he did realise that Spock and Uhura were happy again, it only added to his "happy buzz". By the time he was fully aware of what was going on around him, it was morning and he was well aware of his empty stomach. He looked around to discover that he was on his own again. There was food in his bowl, which was emptied on short notice, along with a copious amount of water from the other bowl. The next hour passed slowly, without much happening until Uhura came in to check on him.

'Just so that we're clear, I am not spending the next hour playing "guess what I'm trying to say".'

Kirk rolled his eyes and wondered out the door, fully noticing that as a dog, he was freed from the hangover that followed a night of drunkenness.

'You were still passed out when McCoy came to check in on you this morning, I think he was still feeling guilty that he dumped you on us last night. Anyhow, he said that you should be fine, just leave out some food and water and check on you every hour or so.'

Kirk nodded his head at her and they completed their journey to the bridge in companionable silence. Once on the bridge, Kirk ignored the offer of help and leapt into his seat unassisted, before beginning to gnaw at the bandage still wrapped around his shoulder. His shoulder was still sore but the bandage was annoying him.

'Keptain should you...,' Chekov started to ask.

Kirk met the younger man's gaze with one that clearly said,  _no, but I'm going to do it anyway._ He had pulled half the bandage off by pulling at it with his teeth, when he encountered an unexpected flaw in his plan, namely gravity. He had manoeuvred himself to the edge of his char and had fallen right off the edge when he let go of the bandage. He ended up tangled and with a dent in his pride. There was a snicker from around the room and Kirk looked up to see Uhura hiding a smile behind her hand. Sulu and Chekov had the good sense to turn back to their stations but from the way Sulu's shoulders were heaving, Kirk could tell that he was trying not to laugh.

'Captain, perhaps it would be wise to wait and allow Doctor McCoy to remove the bandage,' Spock suggested.

Kirk snorted and made several attempts to jump back up into his seat again, before finally making it. He began at his task again, only to discover that no matter how he twisted his body, the damn bandage would not come loose. Frustrated, he began to let out a whining growl as he bit and pulled at the offending material. There was definite laughter this time, yet when he looked up, everyone was absorbed in their work, except for Uhura and Spock, Uhura was stifling a laugh and Spock raised an eyebrow at him.

 

Spock:

 

Spock was almost certain that the noises coming from the captain's chair were not of an alarming nature. The other crew members were seemingly finding amusement in Kirk's actions, although as to what, Spock could not determine, he made a mental note to ask about it later.

'He's acting like a real puppy,' Nyota murmured in an undertone to Spock.

He glanced over at her, and saw her watching Kirk out of the corner of her eye.

'Has he not displayed that kind behaviour before?'

'That was different, that was reacting to what was happening around him.'

'He may not realise that he is making the noises that he is,' Spock observed.

'There's a worry, he may not be losing the puppyness, rather the human in him.'

'I will take him to McCoy then,' raising his voice he added, 'Lieutenant Uhura you have the conn.'

Kirk looked up at him as he spoke and Spock tilted his head, indicating that Kirk should follow him. The pup jumped off the seat and followed him out, somehow managing to avoid getting tangled in the trailing bandage.

'Captain, are you aware of the amount of noise you have been making?'

Kirk tilted his head to the side.

'You keep... growling as you...,' Spock trailed off as Kirk ignored him in favour of battling the bandage again.

Reaching down, Spock quickly relieved the pup of the material wrapped around his body.

'Nyota commented that you seemed to be acting more like a real puppy rather your normal self, I wish to take you to McCoy to be looked over.'

The pup seemingly sighed in frustration and nodded dejectedly, following with many yearning looks over his shoulder.

'What's this,' said McCoy on their arrival, 'he still drunk?'

Spock cast a look at Kirk, the way he sat in the corner, tail between his legs, like he knew he was in trouble.

'He has been behaving less human as of late.'

'Ah, I thought that might happen.'

Spock raised his eyebrow.

'The alcohol in his system is acting like a blocker to his higher, more human, brain functions, as the alcohol leaves his system, he should be back to normal, hopefully with two legs instead of four.'

Kirk wondered over and sat, looking expectantly at Bones then back down to the floor, as if were expecting something.

'Don't look at me like that, you did this to yourself.'

'Doctor I believe he wants something from you.'

Kirk pawed at McCoy's shoe expectantly, causing the doctor to crouch down to the pup's level. Kirk put his paws on McCoy's knee and sniffed. McCoy reluctantly pulled what looked to be chocolate out of his pocket.

'Chocolate is bad for dogs,' McCoy said turning to leave.

Kirk sat on the floor, looking down, shoulders hunched, and letting out a whine. McCoy paused, broke off a small piece and offered it to the pup.

'You're lucky I have a soft spot.'

 

Kirk:

 

Jim practically inhaled the piece, tail wagging, and ignored McCoy as he strode away grumbling. He looked up at Spock who raised an eyebrow. Jim simply tilted his head and proceeded out the door.

'Fascinating,' came the soft voice of Spock behind him.

Kirk deliberately ignored him. Returning to the bridge, the day settled into a very quiet routine.

Three days later and Kirk began to feel sick, he made no show of this and followed his day as normal, morning spent on bridge during shift, roaming the rec rooms after lunch, before heading back to Spock's for dinner and chess afterwards. He blamed over indulging in the scraps people were offering when he roamed the rec rooms. He couldn't help it, food tasted so much better when you had four legs. Uhura seemed to be spending less time with Spock, but they were happy again which meant that either the problem had been spending too much time together or it wasn't lab equipment Spock was handling after lunch. That night, Jim awoke feeling strange, like the room had shrunk, and that the floor was very hard. He couldn't remember Spock's floor being hard, ever.

'Captain,' came a voice from behind him.

Kirk rolled over and realised that he no longer had fur, a tail or four legs, he was completely back to normal. Looking up he saw Spock watching him.

'You might want to cover up,' Spock said, eyes flickering down and then tactfully away.

Kirk went red and realised that he was rather naked.

'I'm going to go... take a shower,' he muttered, voice hoarse from disuse.

He slipped into the bathroom while Spock studied the wall with great intensity. Jim quickly showered and dressed, pondering the actions of people over the time he was a puppy, they seemed different than normal. He was fairly certain that if he had gotten drunk off Bones' booze under any other circumstances, Bones would have bashed him over the head. He was also certain that Uhura would have simply dumped is ass back into his own bed and left him there, rather than look after him. Heading back into the bathroom, he knocked on the door to Spock's quarters before opening them.

'Hey Spock, I just wanted to say thanks for... you know, looking after me and stuff.'

'You are welcome.'

'Goodnight Spock.'

'Goodnight Jim.'

As he headed to bed, Jim decided that maybe it wasn't so weird maybe there just wasn't anything that compared to the love of a puppy.

The End!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so this story is complete, and there is a sequel that I will get around to posting eventually and I also have a collection of one-shots set within this series that I do take suggestions for, which will probably be posted after the sequel is fully up.


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